The african american civil war memorial freedom foundation, which operates the african american civil war museum, will use funds to catalog and digitize the banneker collection which was donated to…

Federal Grant Award Summary

The African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation received a $264,400 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301), awarded on October 1, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2027. The primary deliverable is the cataloging and digitization of the Banneker Collection, one of the largest collections of Benjamin Banneker and Ellicott Family materials in the United States. This project preserves and makes publicly accessible archival materials related to early American history, Maryland history, and African American history housed at the African American Civil War Museum in Washington, DC.

The Museums for America program supports museums of all sizes in project-based efforts to strengthen public service through exhibitions, educational programs, digital resources, professional development, and collections stewardship activities. This award aligns with the program's focus on collections management and digitization, enabling the museum to enhance research accessibility and institutional capacity while fulfilling core objectives of lifelong learning and community engagement through preservation of significant historical materials.

The african american civil war memorial freedom foundation, which operates the african american civil war museum, will use funds to catalog and digitize the banneker collection which was donated to the museum in 1996. Cataloging and digitizing this collection would serve to preserve one of the largest collections related to benjamin banneker and the ellicott family in the united states. IT would make available for public research a treasure trove of history related to early american, maryland, and african american history.